Of Love and Candy
by pinksnow
Summary: Ne, Eiji... What do you think of love? ..... DP friendship, TezuFuji , GP one sided, just read and see! shounen ai. No spoilers. mild angst.


Disclaimer: Tennis no Oujisama, not mine, not at all.

On with the story.

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_" Ne, Eiji? " Fuji murmured softly. It was a lazy day, and they were just resting on the lawns; during lunch break._

_" Nani? " Eiji opened an eye, from where he was sprawled on the grass; ' trying to sleep so that I won't sleep in class nya ' as he put it. ( Well, Fuji knew he was not really asleep, because Eiji was energetic throughout the day; except at the time of classes. )_

_" What do you think of love, ne? " the sky eyed boy asked._

_" Love? " Eiji blinked; both eyes, now open._

_"……" Fuji nodded._

_" Love is…" the redhead rolled over; so that he was now lying on his stomach, and started plucking on the blades of grass, " ..like…..candy nya… " he replied after a moment's contemplation._

_" Candy? " If it was food he was going to compare it to; Fuji would have expected ice-cream instead._

_" Um. " the redhead just nodded in affirmation._

_" Why candy? "_

_" Eto… it's like….. it comes in a wrapper… you have to open it to get to it…and after that, it's sweet nya…." Eiji elaborated a little on the logic._

_"…." he supposed it made sense in an ' Eiji ' sort of way._

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Fuji's perception of love was almost ridiculously clear and simple.

When growing up, Yumiko had always read him bed-time stories; where the prince would meet the princess, and they would immediately fall in love.

Day and night, their minds would be preoccupied with thoughts; only of one another.

And then they would long to be with each other; he supposed it was only natural. They loved each other, so they obviously wanted to be with each other; no questions there.

Of course, there would always be obstacles; those hideous witches, and enchantments.

But true love would overcome everything; stand strong.

And the prince and princess would live happily ever after.

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When Fuji first talked to Tezuka, he immediately fell in love; even if he himself did not know at the time.

It was not just about Tezuka's tennis, or the way the boy upheld his principles even in the worst situations. It was not the naïve righteousness or even the sheer belief in those calm but luminous eyes behind the glasses; which earned him countless followers as the time progressed – Maybe it was all of it; or maybe it was none.

All he knew; was that he couldn't stop thinking about this one boy; he used to think about him day and night. He found himself longing for the dark eyed one's presence; so he accompanied him wherever he could.

It did not take him long to realize - that it was love.

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He was delighted to discover that Tezuka seemed to love him too.

Of course, Tezuka never said it loud or anything like that.

But it was the way the stoic one would allow him to stand about three centimeters closer than the others, how his gaze lingered on the blue eyed one's hand; when it accidentally ( or purposely ) grazed the warm skin at the nape of his neck; how Tezuka would just be more at peace, his breathing more easy; in the presence of the tensai, rather than in his absence.

Words were not necessary, and each day was like a new dream.

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And Fuji was happy. Really happy. So far it was a perfect story.

In a dark corner of his mind, it did bother him a little; at random times he found himself wondering – Yumiko-neesan had never told a story where a prince fell in love with another prince; even when young, that notion had occurred to him, but he had never really put much thought in that direction.

But still, the concept was essentially the same. So it should proceed in the same direction.

Now all he had to worry about were the obstacles – No story was complete without them, and he knew they would have to face them as well; no doubt.

He would often wonder about that too – Just who was going to play the role of the hideous witches, and just what would be the hard to break enchantment? He had a few ideas already, given the not so ordinary nature of their relationship; he was a dreamer, but at the same time, he knew; the road ahead, was not going to be smooth at all.

When the time came, they would fight it; he promised himself.

And they would survive.

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" Tezuka, I like you. "

It was the day of their middle school graduation.

"……." silence.

"…….? " more silence.

" We can't. " two simple words from Tezuka's limited vocabulary.

Fuji almost opened his eyes. Almost.

" Why not? " he asked, soft smile still in place.

No answer.

" Tezuka, I…"

" I've never asked myself, Fuji. " Tezuka was concentrating his attention on the shiny, polished door knob to the right of Fuji.

" Then ask yourself now. " Fuji opened his eyes. " Ask yourself if you like me. "  
_' You know what the answer is, Tezuka. '_

" I don't intend to, I'm sorry. " Tezuka nodded. End of conversation.

End of story.

What now? Fuji wondered.

Tezuka just sighed and gently grabbed Fuji's hand, and gave it a light squeeze; and Fuji even understood the meaning behind that – ' I hope things between us remain the same. ', words that Tezuka wouldn't say, but he heard them anyway. He just nodded numbly in response.

And as Tezuka walked away, Fuji remained rooted to the spot.

No, Tezuka had not been impolite; just frank. It was his decision, the path he chose; there was nothing Fuji could do about it.

And he could now see the lines separating fables from reality a little more clearly; they were faint – but they were definitely there.  
Because two people were in love with each other here; but one chose not to be with the other. And even though there were no evil witches or cursed spells; there was only so much he could do to protect that love.

Another point missed by Yumiko-neesan.

Fuji was seriously considering rewriting some of the children's literature.

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When he stepped outside he decided to visit the more remote areas of their campus; he wondered why he felt no surprise to find Eiji sitting on a grassy clearing.

Alone.

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It was a pact made by the two best friends, to confess to the one's they loved, on graduation day.

And one did not have to be a genius or tensai to see the conclusion to Eiji's story; more or less, the same fate as his.

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" Eiji. " Fuji took a seat beside the redhead.

" Eh? Fujiko! You scared me nya! Don't creep up on people like that. " It seemed Eiji was startled by his intrusion; which could only mean he had been lost in thought. As of now the said redhead was currently trying to catch his breath.

For some reason, it felt just as heart wrenching as his own rejection; maybe even more. Eiji had always been the more emotional of the two; well, at least he was not crying.  
_' Yet. '_ Fuji reminded himself. With Eiji, one could never tell.

" How did it go? " Fuji prodded softly.

" He said he was flattered nya. " Eiji shrugged, " And he will always consider me as one of his closest friends. "

" I see. " Fuji murmured, resisting the urge to pet his friend.

" What about Fujiko? "

"…….."

" Fuji? " Eiji turned to look at the other boy, indigo-blue eyes, filling with concern.

" It was candy gone bad, Eiji." Fuji murmured, smile small; wistful. " I ….. took off the wrapper… but…."

" Lets go home nya. " Eiji suddenly jumped up.

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And on the way home, while parting, Eiji placed something in the others hand.

"……." It was candy.

" Eiji? " Fuji looked up, confusion tinting his features.

" Nya. Its really good. I know you don't usually go for this stuff, but… " Eiji stuffed his hands in his pocket, not quite looking at him; looking sideways, actually.

" That's okay. " Fuji nodded. " Thank you, Eiji. " he was surprised to find himself smiling a real smile.

" Nya " Eiji turned his head to properly look at the sky eyed one. " Fujiko, lets go to high school together nya. "

" Lets. " Fuji agreed, a soft smile, still playing on his lips.

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And as he resumed walking, he opened the wrapper and placed the candy in his mouth.

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It was sweet.

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Owari.

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**A/N: **i wrote this a while ago, as a b'day gift for a friend ( who is an amazing author ), i don't know what i was thinking when i wrote it xP, but hope you had fun reading it :D thank you for reading, reviews much appreciated, so if you liked it, do review!


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